Sonic the Hedgehog: The Broken Hero
by Timek
Summary: Is Sonic really the invincible hero we are all familiar with? In this story, relationships will be tested to the extreme as Sonic goes through difficult times, but forced to rebuild them after the kidnapping of his daughter.
1. Chapter 1

**Sonic the Hedgehog- The Broken Hero**

Chapter 1

Static flared in his headphones as a voice tried to reach Sonic from Headquarters, but their words were lost in the interference. Just like the dozen times before, the static went silent after a moment, when Headquarters realized they couldn`t contact the blue hedgehog. Sonic was so deep into enemy territory that all their attempts at communication were blocked out by the frequent enemy transmissions and strong electromagnetic fields.

Sonic slumped up against the broken stone wall, which had been almost completely destroyed by an ally mortar earlier that day in a strategically-planned long-range attack to weaken enemy defenses. The attack was only partially successful, however. The enemy defenses certainly were damaged, but the enemy had stood their ground, holding their position instead of retreating. Allied generals had come to the assumption that something of value was being held in the nearby fortress, and it was Sonic`s mission to figure out exactly what it was.

Another wave of static rang through Sonic`s ears from his headset, which made him groan. Hadn`t they realized that he couldn`t be contacted? Or maybe they just had something important for him to know and were desperate to relay the information. He couldn`t ignore that possibility. Sighing, Sonic pushed up the visor on his helmet and wiped the line of sweat gathering on his forehead with his gloved hand. He needed to find higher ground to make communication with Headquarters possible.

Finding and holding a suitable place to make a transmission of his own would be a feat in itself. He had no concerns about getting to that place, with his ability to run at supersonic speed. But he couldn`t be moving at the speed of sound while trying to communicate. It would defy the laws of physics. He would need to find a place well concealed from enemy vision. Height and concealment were two things not commonly found in pairs.

Sonic pushed down the visor on his helmet, then turned himself around and pushed himself up while leaning against the wall. He peeked through a spot on the wall that had been blasted away by a mortar shell. Two soldiers were conversing with one another several buildings down the street, far enough away that Sonic couldn`t hear what either of them were saying. Down this street was the quickest way to the outskirts of the fallen city, but it wouldn`t be wise for Sonic to raise an alarm. He wouldn`t forget that it was his mission to infiltrate the base and discover what they were guarding within, all while being undetected. He would need to take the long way around.

In a blue blur, Sonic sprinted through the streets and around fallen debris. Occasionally, Sonic needed to make flash decisions to change route to exit the city due to squadrons of enemy soldiers doing routine patrols of the territory. Besides a close encounters of almost running into a patrol group around a corner, Sonic had no troubles leaving the city. But he still had a slight panic attack, skidding to a stop on the street as he came up to the last fallen home of the city.

The countryside here wasn`t fertile lands with farms, but a barren desert with a few odd hills dotting the landscape. Out there, off of the paved roads of the city, Sonic would be very limited in his mobility. If he attempted to move at high speeds, undoubtedly, a plume of dust would follow him, clearly stating to the enemy `I`m here! Kill me!`. The single two-lane road leading away from the city wouldn`t be a help, either, since it contoured the terrain, swerving through its lowest points. A slow, stressful walk across the desert would be his only method to reaching a destination.

Such a destination Sonic had pinpointed on his first glance across the landscape. Not too far away, an allied fighter plane laid in a heap of metal with a wing pointed almost directly vertical. It wasn`t the height he had hoped for, but in this barren land of nothingness, it was his only choice. The hedgehog stepped from the pavement of the street onto the sandy ground of the desert, taking his first step of many to reach the fallen aircraft.

This walk was not a walk in the park for Sonic. Unless the park one was walking through was surrounded by buildings with sniper infantry stationed at every window, all aimed at a helpless rodent caught between the slides and swingset, completely exposed. Sonic broke into a slight sweat from the pressure. He wanted to run, but he knew he couldn`t.

After several long moments, Sonic managed to get to the plane wreckage unharmed. As he neared, Sonic had to watch his step because of bits of metal broken from the plane in the crash landing that had broken away and scattered all over the crash site.

Walking among the debris, Sonic avoided looking towards the cockpit, afraid of seeing the torn apart corpse of the pilot. Besides, the tail of the plane would give him a good step onto the plane. It took some effort, but Sonic managed to clamber his way up the side of the plane and pull himself onto the wing.

Without wasting any more time, Sonic pressed a button on the side of his helmet to begin transmission, "Headquarters, come in. This is Sonic the Hedgehog. Come in, over."

A moment passed with no response, so Sonic decided to try once more. "Headquarters, please respond! This is Sonic the Hedgehog!"

A voice spoke through his headset with a little static, but Sonic could make out every word spoken. "We read you, Sonic. This is Lieutenant Lombert. What is the status of your mission?"

"Prepared to infiltrate, sir." Sonic replied sternly.

"Good. Sonic, the urgency of this mission has increased tenfold since your briefing at Headquarters. We have information from a trusted informant that what the enemy holds in their base is not a weapon, but a hostage. And judging from the time, you only have five minutes to perform a rescue. The hostage will be executed precisely at 1400 hours. Can you do it?"

Grunting and getting prepared to jump from the wing of the plane, Sonic replied. "Sir, that will be four minutes too many."

"Good. I expect to hear the hostage's voice next time we speak. Lieutenant Lombert out."

The line of communication was broken, and silence returned to Sonic once more. Until the rapid beating of his heart filled that silence, and adrenaline began pumping through the hedgehog's veins. The stakes had just risen drastically, causing Sonic to pull a grin across his face, thinking to himself, _This is getting interesting!_ Throwing caution to the dry desert wind, Sonic leapt from the aircraft's wing and sprinted towards the city, a sandy cloud building and following him.

The sonic boom Sonic created when he reached his top speed was likely to alert the nearby soldiers of his presence, but he didn't care about his presence remaining concealed anymore. As he passed by several patrol units, they were all scrambling to send an alert back to their base. Hardly a few seconds later, an alarm wailed in the near distance, near the city center. This would only aid his approach. He now knew exactly where the base was by following the alarm, and plowed through any soldiers that stood in his way.

It took a minute for Sonic to reach the supposed base of the enemy. But the first word Sonic would use to describe it would be 'fortress'. The enemy had occupied an ancient castle, towering many stories tall and made of stone. But to Sonic, there was no difference between this and a run-down shed. They were both easy to break into.

Spilling out of the front gates were legions of soldiers, probably expecting the entire Allied army to open fire at any given moment. Little did anyone suspect that Sonic could use this as an opportunity for entry to the base. He ran up to the gathering crowd, which arose a panic in the soldiers as they desperately tried to ready their weapons. Sonic leapt over the mass of soldiers, in the space above their heads and beneath the risen gateway. Gunfire exploded only inches from Sonic, but the humans couldn't track Sonic with his supersonic speed. They were all one step behind. Immediately after landing behind the crowd, Sonic made several quick swerves to avoid gunfire, then plowed through a pair of guards to gain access to the corridors of the castle.

At the entrance to the inner castle were three different corridors heading right, forward, and left. Sonic didn't have the time to make a proper decision to which one he would take, so he sped down the right corridor without a second thought. Just as he was making his turn, another alarm sounded, echoing off the stone walls at an ear-splitting volume. The noise nearly made him stumble, but he managed to keep his footing. This was likely why Sonic didn't hear the culminating voices of soldiers around the next corner.

"Whoah!" Sonic exclaimed just after rounding the corner, facing a barricade of soldiers making their advance to the castle gates. They were all cramped together shoulder-to-shoulder all the way across the corridor, so Sonic wouldn't be able to push through.

Scrambling, Sonic skidded to a stop while trying to turn around simultaneously. He flopped to the ground after stumbling, then desperately tried to pick himself back up again, and bolt it around the corner. Just as he was getting back up, a bullet grazed over Sonic's shoulder, but no real harm came to the hedgehog as he managed to sprint back around the corner.

With a heart racing even faster than before due to that little surprise, Sonic raced back the way he came. That little encounter had costed Sonic nearly two of his valuable five minutes until the time of execution for the hostage. A feeling of hopelessness was beginning to pry at Sonic's conscience. He only had two minutes left to rescue the prisoner from the clutches of his enemies. This time, he _had_ to choose the right corridor. The consequence would be too dire if he didn't.

Fortunately, his decision would be made for him. In the corridor across from Sonic, another unit of soldiers was advancing, just like the group he'd just stumbled across. They began shouting over the alarm, and soon after, a barrage of bullets rained down upon the hedgehog. To evade, Sonic needed some fancy footwork, running along the wall for a few seconds, then jumping forward, directly into the center corridor, hopefully towards where the hostage was being held. The soldiers followed behind at a distance, cussing and screaming in frustration.

Sonic burst through a pair of double doors to a sight that he hadn't expected. He was now standing at the entryway of the throne room of an ancient king and queen. But this wasn't what had him standing numb at the doorway. It was the familiar figure tied queen's throne, helplessly staring down at him. Amy Rose.

The pain and desperation glinting in the tears that fell from her eyes struck a nerve within Sonic, and he quickly became infuriated. His blood pumped hot and hard within his chest, and his legs were itching to move just as quickly. Painful it was to his soul, seeing Amy bound against her will, and potentially only a minute from drawing her final breath on earth. Sonic wouldn't allow that to become a reality.

Without thinking, Sonic gave in to the itching feeling within his legs, and created a sonic 'boom' as he sprinted to Amy's side to free her. He held a hand out to fulfil his desire to touch her, but never would he reach her...

An unspeakable pain coursed through his entire body, holding him motionless in mid-step for several long and grueling seconds. The electric shock felt as if every muscle in Sonic's body were about to give at any time, exploding within him. When the flow of electricity through his body ceased, Sonic collapsed to the floor, sprawled at Amy's feet. In a muffle, the pink hedgehog had screamed, but was hardly heard. Sonic laid conscious but immobile, completely paralyzed.

A deep laughter gradually rose in volume, stepping beside the fallen hedgehog and kneeling. "Predictable. Really, you are, Sonic. You are never careful enough...and this time, it's your eternal downfall."

The mysterious figure grabbed Sonic by the neck, and lifted the paralyzed hedgehog so that they were looking one another deep in the eyes. His eyes were so cold...

"You see, Sonic. I never intended to kill Amy. She was merely bait...for you." the man said, throwing Sonic across the room. The crash to the ground would have hurt Sonic if he could actually feel it.

The figure stepped up to Sonic once more, this time holding a pistol between the hedgehog's eyes. "Still, there will be a murder today."

He looked at the watch on his left wrist. "10 seconds until 1400 hours, Sonic.

"...10...

...9...

...8...

...7...

...6..."

He held the pistol more confidently to the hedgehog's head, gently squeezing the trigger.

"...5...

...4...

...3...

...2...

...and 1..."

The mysterious man pulled the trigger back completely. "Execution..."

It was all over.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Nervous thoughts began to race through his mind, resembling a rodent infestation of his home. Too bad he couldn't just call the exterminator to solve this problem for him. Since he'd awoken, his thoughts had reproduced exponentially, coming to the point where he had to take hold of his wife's gloved hand for moral support. Sonic was about to be informed of the results from his final virtual reality test. He knew he didn't do well. Getting killed would never be considered doing something well.

Himself, Amy and Tails were all waiting at one end of a hallway, staring through a glass door at the few workers inside, whom all wore long, white lab coats. One of them should soon pull open the door and welcome their guests. But when the first minute dragged into the next, another feeling of awkwardness settled among the trio. Tails flicked his double tail, patiently waiting, while Amy tried to find her reflection in pane of glass on the door to fix her hair. But Sonic stood completely still, motionless and unwilling to speak. He he'd hardly spoken the entire morning since waking and now, four hours later, he still wasn't sharing his experiences in the virtual realm. Amy and Tails were feeling an ever-increasing concern for their friend.

"What's taking them so long?" Amy complained, tapping on the door a few times. Tails glanced over at her and laughed lightly to himself, shifting to get more comfortable as he leaned against the barren white wall.

A tall, lean fellow, the closest scientist to the door, looked up from his work, turning around and greeting the trio with a smile. Amy and Tails smiled back out of courtesy, but Sonic remained emotionless. What remained of the scientist's hair waved freely as he moved around his desk. As he came within reach of the door handle, the wrinkles upon his face became quite pronounced. Sonic and the others would soon discover that most employees here were of an older generation, with the exception of the cleaning staff. This American Research and Development facility only hired the most skilled and experienced of the scientific industry.

The man pulled the door open fully with one hand, then propped it open with one foot. "I'm very sorry for the wait. Professor Lombert was supposed to meet you here, but it seems there's been some trouble with the simulator. I doubt it's any reason to be concerned, though. It's the finest instrument in all of America!"

The scientist smiled and gave a laugh. He paused his speech, probably expecting to get one in return. Nobody even flinched.

"Well, I suppose I could lead you to the meeting room. I don't know all the details, but apparently they're going to say something big! At least, that's the buzz around the lab." The scientist offered. "Please, follow me."

Sonic, Amy and Tails were led through a maze of desks, each one outfitted with a high-end computer, stacks of documents, and several other things that varied from station to station. The strange thing was...most stations were empty.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking...Where is everybody?" Tails shouted to the front. The aisle between desks was so narrow that they could only travel single file, and Tails was trailing at the back.

"At the special request of the President, Sonic's testing was to be kept as secret as possible. So secretive that even we employees doing the testing only know fragments of the overall tests. Probably because we might come across some weakness that could be used against him. Only a select few of us were allowed to work on this 'project'." The scientist explained. "I'm Hans Weaver, and I was in charge of tracking Sonic's vitals every moment he was in the virtual realm. And I must say, it wasn't an easy job. Your heart rate is at least two to three times as quick as it would be for a human simply just when standing, Sonic. When you were, I guess, moving at supersonic speed...well, you can just imagine! My ears are still ringing!"

Just as the Hans was finished speaking, he opened another glass door, into a room just as white as everything else in the building. The walls weren't even decorated with any form of framed artwork. It looked more like a prison interrogation room than anything else. The only thing that stood out from all this whiteness was a single black pen laying across a long, rectangular table.

"May I offer some refreshments while you wait for Professor Lombert to arrive?" Hans offered while the others entered the room. "Perhaps a peppermint tea for the fine young lady?"

"That would be lovely!" Amy exclaimed, turning to the scientist to give him a smile. "Thank you."

Hans was about to pull the door open to leave, when Tails spoke up in a calm voice. "Could I get a glass of chocolate milk?"

Hans held the door open, and turned around, the metal frame hitting him on the hip. The door looked heavy, and the scientist's body weak, but he managed to stand unwaveringly. "I'll see what I can find. If not, I'll bring you a glass of regular milk, if you like?"

Tails nodded, and the scientist let the door close behind him with a 'thud'. The air between the group became uncomfortable, with gazes darting around the room at various focal points, aside from Sonic's which stared at his gloved hands. Both Tails and Amy wanted to try comforting Sonic, but they were afraid of upsetting him. So they remained silent, until the door opened once more.

A different man was at the door this time, though, struggling to push open the door and balance a round tray carrying their refreshments at the same time. Just from looking at the back of his head, the group could tell that he, too, was an older person. His hair was almost completely white, with a few brown strands to remain as a memory of his youth. However, he was a little stockier than the other scientist, especially in the upper body where a bit of a hunch was present.

Tails pushed back his chair and rushed to help him out. "Here, let me help you!" When the scientist managed to open the door enough to squeeze through, Tails offered to take the tray of refreshments, which was gladly given to him. He maneuvered his way back to his chair, at which point he would put the tray down on the table, then distributed the drinks. Tails noted that his was only white milk, and gave a bit of a sigh. At least it had come with a straw...

"Good evening," The man said as he seated himself at the head of the table, "I am Professor Lombert, the man in charge of this entire operation."

The Professor looked across the table looking uneasily at Sonic. To ease his nerves, Lombert took a mug from the tray and sipped his drink several times. It was obvious to everyone in the room that something unsettling was on his mind.

"I'll get straight to the point, Sonic. " Professor Lombert spoke casually. "You're reckless."

Sonic lifted his eyes to lock with the Professor's with a smirk on his face, "Reckless, huh? That's what you call heroism, is it?"

The Professor frowned, "No, Sonic. I call your recklessness stupidity. You run around battlefields with no thought towards strategy. You don't consider the dangers of the actions you do. Every time you fight, you're gambling with your life and the lives of others in the operation so that _you_ can get all the glory.

"Based on your results today, that's why the American Government has decided that your services are no longer required. You are no longer allowed to fight for the military."

Enraged, Sonic slammed his fist on the tabletop. Too shocked to say anything, Amy and Tails watched their friend as he threw his chair back and stood in anger.

"What do you mean, 'no longer required'?" Sonic shouted. "You _need_ my help! It's not like Eggman's just going to stop terrorizing the country simply because I'm not there. If anything, he'll work harder now that I'm out of the way."

Professor Lombert sighed uncomfortably, and scratched at the bald spot hidden behind his white curls. He took several more sips from his mug before continuing.

"Look, Sonic, the opinion of the Government is very clear. You're free to put your own life on the line whenever you feel like it. That's not what matters here. It's the fact that others will lose their lives because of your carelessness. You may be an asset to your country, but you've outlived your worth as a soldier for your lack of concern."

"You can't do this-" started the blue hedgehog, but was quickly interrupted.

"I have no choice! The Secretary of Defense himself asked me to relay the message. If you have a problem with it, find some way to take it up with him." exclaimed the Professor, pushing back the chair so he could stand. "Now if you don't mind, I have some business to attend to. There's still a pile of paperwork left to do regarding this whole situation. Good day to you all."

Before anyone could say anything more, the Professor had thrown open the door and had left, leaving the others to sort through their thoughts. The news had come as a complete surprise to the entire group. None of them could speak for moments to come as they tried to figure out if what they heard actually happened.

Amy was the first to snap out of the uneasy trance the bad news had caused, and the first to rush over to Sonic to try comforting him. She walked around the table towards him, stopping behind his chair so that she could reach forward and wrap her arms around his chest. She rested her chin upon the backrest so that she could whisper in Sonic's ear.

"Honey, everything will be alright. We can get along fine without you risking your life for them. We can finally settle down and live normal lives just like everyone else!" Amy whispered with a smile. "And besides, Tasha misses you when you're gone. You get to spend more time with her!"

Sonic sighed, leaning forward away from Amy and rested his head upon his crossed arms. "I don't know... Amy, saving the world isn't something you can just put to the side and expect someone else to pick it up. If I sit back, people's lives will be at stake. If I sit back...people are going to _die._"

Shrugging, Amy let go of Sonic, looking to Tails who sat on the other end of the table, sucking at the last of his milk through the straw.

"Wether you want to save people or not, there's nothing you can do about it." Tails spoke calmly. "You can't simply disregard them and not expect consequences."

"There you go! Now, let's get home. If it'll make you feel better, I'll put on a pot of hot water for coffee or something." Amy spoke with a half-hearted smile.

Feeling the need to get out as quickly as possible, Amy ran from Sonic's chair and to the door, struggling to pull it open. Tails pushed back his chair and headed through the door once Amy got it open. It was Sonic who lingered for a moment, with his thoughts gluing him to the chair. It took time, but he eventually pushed back the chair and slowly headed towards the door.

Just as he passed Amy, Sonic whispered cooly, "I'm not going to let _anyone _die."


End file.
